The Last five posts in far less time

The theological centre of the Psalms is the reign of YHWH, over his people, over the nations and over the King.1 The stability of his Torah, like the stability of the world, is undergirded by the sovereignty of YHWH over everything. “Because the judgments of Yhwh are acts to enforce his rule, the psalms give a prominent place to his work as a judge”2 The Torah of God is presented as the way for his anointed king to be aligned with YHWH's reign, to avoid negative judgment and to be blessed by Yhwh. Even in light of the failure of Davidic kingship, this relationship of Yhwh's reign, alignment and blessing is opened to each individual and the entire community of Israel, as it had been under Moses. The Deuteronomic scheme of retributive justice outlined in the Torah psalms provide both the tension that drives the laments and the confidence in deliverance. This confidence comes not from a moral coherence immanent to the creation itself, but from the fact of Yhwh's reliable reign in giving the Torah and creating the heavens and the earth.